


Because I'm a Son of Hades

by Doevademe (OriginalDaemon)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 13:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalDaemon/pseuds/Doevademe
Summary: Percy struggles to understand Nico through their lives.Maybe all they need to do is to look beyond their labels and parentage.





	Because I'm a Son of Hades

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Percico Event. Originally a drabble, this became a 6.5k monster before I realized. For those of you who have read Love is not Soft and Fluffy this might be familiar to you, as I tackle some of the same points I did in that story. Let's just say that this is how I envision Percico happening after the series, and I'm glad to finally have had the chance to write it out.

In a way, Percy was always aware of Nico to some extent.

Their relationship was, for lack of a better term, a bit messed up. While every other Half-Blood could be a friend, a rival, a traitor or a crush, Nico always rejected any and all labels simply by being Nico.

“We aren’t friends, Percy,” he had said once during their journey through Daedalus’ Labyrinth.

He was right, of course. What did he really know about Nico? That he was a Son of Hades and that he had lost his sister. He didn’t even know if he still liked that weird card game, he didn’t know his favorite color or what were his plans after growing up.

The only thing that connected him to Nico was guilt over leaving such a young kid alone in the world. Not the best basis for a friendship, but it made him pay more attention to Nico than he did to others.

Because Nico and Percy helped each other out when it was necessary. When Geryon wanted to eat them or sell them to Luke, when Percy needed to find a way to survive his fight with Kronos, when Nico needed information on his mother (granted, he hadn’t agreed to help with that exactly, but still) they had been there to lend the other a hand.

And who knows, maybe it was time to actually be friends with Nico di Angelo.

“Nico!” He called as he jogged towards the arena. The son of Hades seemed to be enjoying the attention saving camp provided, as some of the younger campers gathered around to watch him practice some sword moves on an undead soldier.

Percy’s call seemed to break his concentration, as he found himself a without a few hairs and almost decapitated. With a snarl, he snapped his fingers, leaving a pile of bones where his sparring partner once stood.

Percy noticed the campers watching Nico turn to each other. They no longer looked amazed at Nico, but nervous. The boy seemed to not notice as he began walking towards Percy.

He idly wondered if Nico’s small entourage would last a week before moving to the next shiny thing.

“Hey Percy,” Nico said, cheeks red from exhaustion and hair matted from sweat. Percy could just picture keeping his training drills longer than he intended for the sake of the kids watching him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, really,” he said, trying to not scare Nico away. “Just wondering how you were adjusting to camp.”

“It’s going well,” Nico said earnestly. While the smile on his face was still small, it was still the happiest Percy had seen him since Bianca died. “I think I’m getting the hang of it now.”

“That’s great!” Percy said. “So, since you’re going to stay all year, I think it would be great if you could spend a week or so at my house. You know, some change of scenery, catching up…” he trailed off.

Nico frowned, looking unsure.

“Just the two of us?” Nico asked as he averted his gaze, crossing his arms.

“Only if you want to. Annabeth will probably visit too, but I don’t think she’ll stay over,” he said, trying to make it more enticing. He knew Nico had a crush on Annabeth.

Somehow, the idea of Nico liking his girlfriend didn’t make him feel particularly jealous or possessive. Maybe it was because of his age…

The son of Hades stayed quiet for a few minutes. He bit his lip before giving a reluctant nod.

“I… I’ll think about it, okay?” Nico said lowly. “Maybe during Winter Break?” he asked, but the question seemed more directed at himself rather than Percy.

The son of Poseidon still nodded enthusiastically.

“That sounds good to me,” Percy said as he placed his arm on Nico’s shoulder, who jumped slightly but didn’t try to shake him off. “I’ll tell mom about it.”

Guilt was hardly the basis for a friendship, but it would have to do.

Because if there was one thing Percy could offer Nico, it was friendship.

* * *

The next time he met Nico was a few days later, by the strawberry fields, he approached to say hi, but stopped when he noticed the patch of grass around him becoming yellowish and dry.

Nico seemed to notice him either way, as he turned suddenly and stared at him, daring him to say something.

Percy gulped, but did take the last few steps towards him.

“Hey, buddy,” he said, trying to be as upbeat as possible. If anything, it only served to piss Nico off even further. “So I talked to my mom and—”

“Forget it,” Nico said, glaring at some point in the distance. Percy glanced back and noticed some of the kids that had been with Nico some days ago, now staring wide-eyed at a satyr controlling plants with a recorder. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Percy suddenly realized that while, to him, these new campers were just kids, they were not much younger than Nico. To Nico, they weren’t some flaky, immature fans, they were his _peers_.

It was strange to take notice that, while he still thought of Nico as a kid, he still saw him as far older than the other children his age.

“Come on, forget about them,” Percy said gently. “We can still have fun—”

“I don’t need your pity, Percy.” Nico recoiled from the hand about to touch him. The dead grass circle seemed to grow about an inch or so. “I already told you, we’re not friends, and we’ll never be.”

“Why not?” Percy asked. For some reason, he wasn’t scared of the boy sending waves of death all around him. Maybe because he knew the boy wouldn’t hurt him. “We could be friends, you know? We’ll never know until we try!”

“That won’t ever happen,” Nico said coldly as he began walking towards his just finished cabin. “Because I’m a Son of Hades, and that’s all I’ll ever be to everyone else.”

Nico walked away, a cold chill following behind him and leaving Percy with goose bumps.

Percy didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to stop him.

Because he didn’t know if he could disprove any of his claims.

* * *

The Argo II moved towards the sinkhole that had formed in Rome. There was no doubt in Percy’s mind that it was the outcome of Annabeth’s quest for the Mark of Athena.

They just needed a little more time, and they could give her some support.

Nico stood a few feet behind them, looking at the horizon without actually focusing on anything.

Percy wanted to ask him so many things. About New Rome, about pretending not to know him, about his true agenda…

“You doing alright?” was what he asked him instead. Nico looked at him with his broken eyes, blinked slowly and turned his face back to the horizon.

“I survived,” Nico said. Percy didn’t know what to say to that answer. “I count that as a victory.”

Percy hesitated. He didn’t know what Tartarus was like, what it had taken for Nico to get back alive. The part of him that wanted to throttle him for not telling him who he was back in New Rome had died quickly after seeing him awake.

For the first time, Ghost King didn’t seem like his title, but his description. Nico looked even more underfed, with eyes sunken and the darkest circles under his eyes.

“Will you be alright, then?” Percy said finally. Nico didn’t turn this time.

“I have to be,” Nico said softly. “Hazel needs me… and she’s not the only one.”

“Okay, but remember, you’re not alone, if you need to talk—”

“I’ll summon a ghost to vent to,” Nico interrupted him. “In case you forgot, I’m a Son of Hades. Socializing is not my forte.”

Percy wanted to call bull on that. Before Bianca, Nico was sociable. He was somewhat annoying, but he took the initiative to talk to complete strangers while his sister had been more reserved.

He refrained, if only because it seemed like speaking too strongly might break Nico even further.

“In case you have forgotten, I’m the one who hid who you were, and the one who sold you out to Hades,” Nico frowned slightly, the anger making his eyes come alive. Percy just wished it wasn’t with self-hatred. “Now look ahead, your girlfriend needs help right now.”

There was something strange in the way Nico said the word girlfriend, almost as if he despised the word.

Hazel came over and gave a grateful smile to Percy for trying. He nodded back, unsure of how much help he actually had been.

Nico was right. There were more pressing issues at hand.

They’ll have plenty of time to talk things over after they got Annabeth back.

* * *

Everything made sense now. At the same time, nothing made sense anymore.

Nico di Angelo had had a crush on him. Nico had liked him for gods know how long.

Apparently, it was completely okay to drop that bomb and go merrily on your way, not even waiting for Percy to get a word in.

Nico was such a pal.

“He… hated me,” he said to Annabeth as they walked back to Camp. “He hated me, right? I was not the only one to think that, was I?”

Annabeth just smiled at him. He wasn’t sure if she had known all along and was making fun of him, or if she truly hadn’t known and didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s not like it matters much, does it?” She said instead, dodging his questions. “Nico already said he was over it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Percy grumbled, still somewhat upset.

He just… could not believe his and Nico’s estrangement was not his fault. It always seemed that he always was messing him up no matter what, that he never stopped to think that maybe quite a few of Nico’s issues were his own.

After all, he hadn’t put him in that casino, he hadn’t been responsible for the attitude towards his sexuality when he was born. Hell, if he was honest with himself, Bianca had decided to sacrifice herself in Hephaestus’s junkyard. Promise or not, he wouldn’t have been able to stop her.

Nico’s confession, in a way, had lifted a weight he had been carrying for almost three years. It was liberating to finally think of Nico not as that kid he had failed, but as a potential friend he hadn’t tried hard enough to reach out to.

“Besides,” Annabeth continued, unaware of Percy’s thought process. “He seems to be interested in Will Solace now.”

“He is?” Percy asked, bemused. He would be the first to admit he didn’t know Nico as well as he could have, but Will Solace hardly seemed to be a good match for him.

“Well yeah. He didn’t seem too beat up about having to spend a lot of time in the infirmary recovering,” Annabeth said, shrugging. “You know opposites attract and all, and he’s a son of Hades, health and light are pretty opposite to death and the underworld.”

Percy hummed, not wanting to argue with his girlfriend. Annabeth sometimes thought too much of demigods as extensions of their godly parents, rather than their own people. It was something he knew and accepted about his girlfriend, even if he didn’t agree with her.

Percy decided he still needed to talk to Nico about all this. The sooner the better.

He put his arm around Annabeth’s shoulders, and went back to their future plans in New Rome.

* * *

His talk with Nico ended up happening nearly a week later. Not only was the Son of Hades trapped in the infirmary for a few days, but after being released he kept going back there over and over. Despite his misgivings, he could only agree with Annabeth on Will and Nico becoming a thing.

He had trapped Nico one afternoon by the lake. He was sitting down, looking at the naiads play around in the water, looking somewhat lost.

“Still not used to staying in one place?” Percy asked lightly, making the other teen jump. Nico grumbled a bit, but moved aside to give Percy some space.

Percy took the hint and sat beside him, leaving some distance between them.

“It’s not so bad.” Nico shrugged and threw a pebble into the lake. The naiads gave him a glare in warning, but he just glared back, making them nervous. “Jason and Will keep me busy, so I’m not exactly bored.”

“Or alone,” Percy commented. He expected Nico to glare at him, but he just gave a noncommittal shrug as his eyes kept evading Percy. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nico said. “I’m a Son of Hades, after all.”

“But I’m a Son of Poseidon,” Percy retorted. Nico finally looked at him, perplexed. “We two, we’re children of the Big Three. We understand what it means to be the outsider, to have all this power that makes others see you differently.”

“Being put on a pedestal is not the same as being feared or hated,” Nico pointed out. “Being seen as the villain just for who your father is.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not similar,” Percy said. “They see us as outsiders even if we’re also demigods. We should stick together instead of being rivals, or enemies.

“I actually think Jason and Thalia have it the easiest of us.” Percy continued, feeling inspired by his own words. “Their heritage mean they’re respected. Their siblings are some of the most famous heroes. Us? The Romans think I’m bad luck, the Greeks expect me to be this specific kind of hero, and both of them fear death. Why shouldn’t we stick up for each other? But I didn’t… sorry, Nico.”

“To be fair, I pushed you away for other reasons,” Nico said his cheeks slightly red. “It wasn’t just because of you not trying hard enough.”

“But that reason is no longer valid, is it?” Percy asked with a smirk. “You are over me, you told me so yourself. So, what do you say? Friends?” He offered his hand to Nico, trying to hide how nervous he actually was.

Nico took his hand and shook it.

“Why not?” Nico said, smiling slightly.

This wasn’t Percy making reparations. It wasn’t Nico being roped into this. It was the two of them deciding to move past their history, and starting anew with no baggage.

He was so happy, so satisfied to finally reach an understanding with Nico, that he didn’t even notice his own heart beating rapidly.

* * *

The beginning of the end happened slowly, to the point where even he didn’t notice it.

He and Annabeth had been living together for about two months, going to college in New Rome, finally unwinding and being able to be just Percy and Annabeth, without quests or the end of the world approaching.

It had been a Tuesday, Percy had been to class with a professor he was sure hated him. He had been ranting about being called on to answer a question about something they hadn’t even covered yet when Annabeth interrupted.

“Are you sure you didn’t simply forget to read that class’s programmed lecture?” She asked, with the same amused smile she usually put.

Percy was too angry to find it charming as usual.

“I _read_ it, Annabeth. He asked something from the next unit,” Percy said, pissed. Why was that one of the classes they didn’t have together? She would understand if she saw how Professor Greene treated him.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” she said, still amused. “Still, you can’t blame me from assuming. You _are_ a Seaweed Brain after all.”

For the first time in a long while, Percy felt as if he was being insulted, instead of called by an endearing nickname.

The way she said it, like she expected him to be dumb, hurt. He had spent his whole academic life trying to prove that he wasn’t an idiot, a problem child that changed schools due to being unintelligent or conflictive. Every time he had had to tell his mother a school wouldn’t be accepting him the following year, because his barely passing grades weren’t worth the problems of having to deal with an ADHD kid who got in fights with exchange students or set fire to a lab, it had hurt him deeply.

And here was the woman he loved, with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, agreeing that maybe he was too dumb for higher education.

He didn’t know what to say, so he reacted as he usually did.

“I guess you’re right, as always, Wise Girl,” he said. Annabeth nodded and kissed his cheek. “But that’s enough about Greene, how was your class?”

She launched into how much she loved her architectural design class, using terms he didn’t quite understand, but happy to move on from that moment.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if Annabeth respected him, saw him as an equal, or if he just was her pretty arm candy she would show off during building inaugurations and the like.

A part of him told him to stop being ridiculous. Annabeth and him had been through so much together, including no less than two plots to destroy the world. Of course Annabeth saw him as an equal.

He decided to hold on to that argument, even if there was a smaller, but more insistent, part of him trying to tell him how demigod stuff didn’t necessarily translate to adult, mortal matters.

* * *

Things deteriorated at a steady pace after that. Annabeth’s teases didn’t seem as good natured as he remembered, while she got annoyed when he intruded on her study time with some gesture he thought was romantic.

The guest room, which only existed because they had filled the paperwork for a house with two people and had first been a study, became Annabeth’s de facto room once finals came around as she began pulling all-nighters and she decided it was better to have a space only for herself, bringing in an inflatable mattress.

Percy had asked if he was a distraction, Annabeth, direct as always, had said yes.

“It’s not always a bad thing,” she had said in a reassuring tone. “But right now I need to focus on more important stuff than dates and kisses.”

That was the crux of things, wasn’t it? He was always the distraction. The one doing seemingly reckless stuff while she planned for their survival. Now that they didn’t need him to distract a blind Cyclops or make a miniature maelstrom while she thought up an strategy, the only one he distracted was Annabeth herself.

If they weren’t working as a team anymore, if they _couldn’t_ work as a team anymore, what was the point of staying together?

He could see she had reached the same conclusion as he did during one of her nagging bouts for trying to pull her away from studying for a moment with a cupcake and coffee.

She had applied for her own separate apartment and taken her stuff by the end of the week. Of course, Annabeth had always been efficient like that.

Most people would call their break-up “amiable”. There hadn’t been shouting or insulting. They had both agreed it was for the best. They even had promised to meet up the following week to make sure Annabeth had settled in all right.

So why did he feel so destroyed and drained?

He stared at the now empty room where the studio used to be for what felt like hours before a knock on the door brought him back to reality.

He opened the door to find Nico on the other side, holding Chinese take-out.

“Hey,” he said sheepishly.

“Uh… I didn’t order anything?” Percy tried for a joke. Nico just rolled his eyes and pushed past him and into the couch.

“I didn’t know what to bring,” he explained as he set down the food. “Everyone says ice cream is good after a break-up, but then I thought ‘Percy might not have eaten since Annabeth left this morning’, so it was either this or a Big Mac, and knowing your appetite, I picked quantity over quality.”

Percy had so many questions, starting with how on Earth Nico thought that what seemed to be Premium-grade Chow Fan with prawns as big as half his hand was somehow of inferior quality to your run-of-the-mill burger.

“What are you doing here?” He asked as Nico invaded his kitchen, hunting for forks.

“Making sure you still function after a life-changing event,” Nico said as he finally found the cutlery drawer and took two out, alongside two plates.

It was true he and Nico were in much better terms now than they were at the end of the war with Gaea. If anyone asked Percy, he would say they were friends without doubting it, but certainly not to the extent of one of them visiting just to comfort the other after a break-up.

Which brought him to…

“How did you find out? We are keeping it low-key for now,” Percy said. Annabeth didn’t want anyone pitying her or their friends taking sides, which Percy agreed with. So how did Nico of all people find out they had broken up?

“I’m a Son of Hades, Percy,” he smirked. “We children of the Underworld have our dark ways of gathering information.”

Despite himself, Percy chuckled. That was Nico’s excuse when he didn’t feel like explaining himself. He sat on the couch and served himself a generous portion of fried rice with as many prawns as he could.

“Thank you,” he said, using his free hand to ruffle Nico’s hair. Nico just glared at him. “I really needed a friend.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

Nico and Percy stayed up late, watching the Nymph Fights reruns marathon on Hephaestus TV, making fun of the fact that the “mysterious date” the nature spirits were pruning each other for was in fact one of the old goats from the Council of Cloven Elders (which hadn’t been revealed to the contestants or the audience until the season finale).

“It was Annabeth,” Nico said quietly around 3 AM, during the credits of the second to last episode. “She told me about the break-up.”

“Oh.”

“But she didn’t ask me to check up on you,” he said hurriedly. “I mean, I guess she expected me to, otherwise she wouldn’t have told me, but I could have just IM-ed, coming here was my idea.”

“Nico—”

“And I know this sounds like a lie, but I really did come because I wanted to, not because anyone told me to and—”

“Nico!” He placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping his rant. “It’s okay. I believe you. You’re a true bro, thank you.” He smiled.

Nico let out a sigh of relief.

“Good.” Nico got comfortable on the couch again. The opening theme song was starting already. “So who wins? I kind of want Laurel to get the date with Silenus, she sucks.”

“I won’t spoil the best moment of the show for you, dude!” Percy laughed as the host recapped last episode’s elimination challenge. “I’ll just tell you to keep an eye on the winner _and_ the loser’s faces after the reveal.”

Nico fake grumbled, but settled down on the couch. Percy just looked at the Son of Hades as he got lost in trashy reality TV.

Maybe the reason Annabeth told Nico was that he had always stood by Percy, even when their relationship had been… messy. She knew what he needed better than himself.

He relaxed and turned back to the TV, glad to have someone like Nico in his life.

* * *

Some people realize they’re in love in a flash of recognition, a sudden realization. Others identify it earlier in its early stages, and watch it develop from a crush into full-blown infatuation.

A third kind realizes their feelings, but live in denial for some reason or another. Like, just to put an example, the person you like having a boyfriend and having told you three years prior how they were over you.

Three guesses what category Percy fell into, and the first two don’t count.

Nico was in his usual black T-shirt and skinny jeans that still somehow managed to be snug in his slim frame. They were on Percy’s couch, helping Nico study for his GED tests so he could enroll in college next year.

Although to be fair, Nico was doing almost everything on his own. Percy just provided snacks, drinks and snarky comments on the subjects.

In exchange, he got to ogle Nico’s exposed collarbone while he was distracted with the books. Percy felt ashamed of how he wasn’t ashamed at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, he recognized the Confederate flag painted in the upper right corner of the page.

“Ooh, the Civil War, that will surely be useful for a criminologist,” he said as Nico just rolled his eyes.

“Too bad the United States didn’t agree on how they wanted to be the United States, then,” Nico said as he turned the page. “Because it’ll still come up in the test.”

They remained quiet for a few minutes. Percy bit his lip, thinking back to the last time he had helped someone during a study session.

“Say, am I being too annoying?” Percy asked when Nico stopped to take another handful of nachos. “Because I can totally leave for a couple hours if you need to focus.”

“You’re just the right amount of annoying,” Nico said before bringing the nachos to his mouth.

“I’m not sure if I should feel proud of that or insulted.” Percy crossed his arms. Nico chewed for a few seconds and then swallowed.

“If I was doing this alone, I’d drive myself crazy trying to get as much of this into my head as quickly as possible,” he said, tapping the book in his lap. “You being annoying pulls me out of that mind state a bit, so you are helping me.”

“So, am I a distraction? Is that why you’re studying here instead of with Will?”

“You keep me grounded,” he corrected him, though he was frowning a bit. Percy felt his face heat up slightly. “If anyone were to be a distraction, it would be Will.”

Now it was Percy’s turn to frown. Of course, it was obvious Nico would find Will distracting. He was actually attracted to him.

If he could go back in time, he would kick his 14-year-old self for not noticing Nico back when the boy had been interested in him.

“How are you retaining all this, though?” He asked, trying to put the bad mood and jealousy aside. “It took me years to learn all this.”

“I’m a Son of Hades, that’s how,” Nico said, going back to his book. “Dad made sure to make the people who made history actually teach it to me. I’m only using this book to compare with the ‘official’ version.”

“And the verdict is…”

“History is a big heap of lies that embellishes the winners and demonizes the losers.”

“Now look at you! You haven’t even taken the GEDs yet and you’re already talking like a college guy,” Percy teased as he ruffled Nico’s hair. Nico made a pout, which only made Percy notice his lips even more.

Crap, he was too far-gone.

“You suck. You know that, right?”

Percy only laughed, trying to focus on anything but the gorgeous young man beside him.

* * *

Percy slammed the door to his apartment open. Unsurprisingly, Nico was lazing around on his couch. However, instead of afraid or shocked, Nico looked like he had been expecting this.

It only made Percy angrier.

“How long?” He asked. Nico blinked a couple times before shrugging.

“Hello, Percy. Nice of you to drop by your own home.”

“How long, Nico?”

“About a year or so? It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“A year?! I… I expected a month at worst…” Percy sat down, shocked. Nico placed a hand of his shoulder in understanding. Percy didn’t bother to shake it off. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it wasn’t important,” Nico repeated, as if Percy was being obtuse. Maybe he was.

“Breaking up with your longtime boyfriend _is_ important, Nico!” Percy exclaimed, but there was no heat to it. “We’re supposed to be friends, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Two years is not that long,” Nico said, but Percy just stared at him. Nico sighed. “I guess… I never felt like Will would be it, you know? I… was more into the fact that I could just be with guys than the fact that I was with _this_ particular guy.”

“So I had to make a fool of myself and ask Will what he had planned for your birthday just to find out?”

“You did that?” Nico asked. “I thought Reyna, or Hazel would tell you, it wasn’t like I kept it a secret.”

“Come on, Nico. When you told me last month Will was a distraction, you meant that it would be too awkward to be in the same room as your ex. You totally tried to hide it from me! What if I had wanted to be there for you, just like you were for me?” Percy asked. Finally, Nico looked down guiltily. “I thought we were finally friends.”

“We are!” Nico said, his voice taking on a panicked tone for the first time. “It’s just… I didn’t feel as bad as you did after Annabeth. It seemed silly to try and make it all about me when it was obvious Will had been the one hurt…”

“Nico…”

“It was the day with the chocolate syrup.”

Something clicked in Percy’s mind. He remembered finding Nico looking upset, with an industrial sized bottle filled with chocolate syrup.

Nico had told him he wanted to try out every food possible with the damn thing to test whether the sauce really made everything better or not.

Percy remembered eating the most disgusting sounding combinations that day. He and Nico threw up almost as much as they laughed, but they ended up finding a few pleasant surprises (they still sometimes had cheese ravioli with chocolate syrup for dessert, much to their friends’ disgust).

It had also been the first time he had realized that his feelings for Nico might have not been completely platonic.

“So you see, you were actually there for me that day,” Nico said. Percy couldn’t really fault that logic as much as he wanted to.

“You still should have told me,” he said grumpily. Nico seemed to relax, sensing the danger was finally over. “Why do you never tell me these things?”

“Because I’m a Son of Hades,” he said. “I’m mysterious and closed off, even with my closest friends.”

Percy wanted to retort, but refrained, if only because being referred to as one of Nico’s closest friends made him feel warm inside despite himself.

* * *

Percy never quite figured out how to enter a relationship with a longtime friend. Annabeth had done all the work herself last time, and he doubted he could recreate those circumstances, since he liked the world to be not on danger.

There was also the fact that both he and Annabeth liked each other, while he had no clue about Nico’s feelings.

The guy spent a lot of time with him, to the point Percy had actually taken out the inflatable mattress again to put in the still empty extra room he had for Nico to crash. He also seemed to prefer his company over anyone else’s, and sometimes they even went out to restaurants or the movies just for a change of pace.

On the other hand, Nico tried to avoid his touch unless strictly necessary. Any and all physical contact between him and Percy had to be started by Nico, or else he would move away and frown. Nico also said he had stopped looking for a romantic partner after Will, meaning that he was not attracted to anyone at the moment.

So, the question was less whether Nico liked him, and more on how to make him like him.

Well, no better way to find out than at the source.

“Hey Nico,” he said one morning as they were ordering some coffee to remain awake during classes. He was nearly finished with college and he couldn’t decide for the life of him if he would miss it or be glad he would never have to hear the words “simple problem” uttered together again. “Is that guy checking you out?”

Nico flushed and looked back. Indeed, a guy about their age with dirty blonde hair flashed them a smile and a wave before turning back to their friends, who gave a few hoots and laughs.

“It must have been you,” Nico said, rushing out of the coffee shop. Percy took their coffees and hurried after him. “Guys… people don’t look at me like that.”

“Will did,” Percy pointed out, offering him his black coffee. Nico accepted it as Percy took a big gulp of his latte with an extra helping of whipped cream. “Ah! Hot!”

“You deserve it, you big child,” Nico said as he took a sip of his cup. “If we were in Italy, people would repudiate you for disrespecting coffee.”

“Thank the gods I’m American then.” Percy took a smaller sip, mostly cream and very little coffee, before looking back at Nico. “Seriously though, why wouldn’t that guy like you?”

“Guys tend to be turned off when you smell like a cemetery and speak of the deceased in present tense,” he said tersely. “That one’s not my type, anyways.”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask, what _is_ your type?” He asked curiously. “I only know I’m not it, and apparently neither was Fratboy Junior back there.”

“I guess it’s not so much that I have a type as I have impossibly high standards,” Nico shrugged. “Their physical appearance doesn’t matter as much as how they treat me.”

“So, they can be ugly as sin as long as they treat you right?”

“I won’t lie and say I don’t care that the guy isn’t cute but…” Nico struggled, trying to find the right words. “I want someone who lets me be me, who won’t give up or disapprove because I like to talk with ghosts or shadow travel.”

“Was that why it didn’t work out with Will?”

“Stop mentioning my ex, please,” Nico said. “You don’t hear me talk about Annabeth every other minute.”

“Sorry, go on.”

“But you’re almost right,” Nico took another sip of coffee. “Will did try to make me something I’m not to try to protect me from the dark. He didn’t realize that I am the dark, too.

“But that’s not all, I guess… Will was… too accommodating. He allowed me to say how fast the relationship went, which I appreciated, but I had to ask for every hug, every kiss. I’d like someone to try and sweep me off my feet. I’m tired of always pursuing someone, I’d like to be pursued for once, you know?”

Percy looked at his coffee, then back at Nico. He swallowed before nodding.

“Yeah, okay.” Percy took Nico’s coffee and put it on the railing of the closest window. Nico barely had time to look at him confusedly before yelping at Percy holding him by the waist and picking him up to place him against the wall.

“Wh-what do you think you are you doing?” Nico asked. Percy smiled nervously, before getting closer and whispering in his ear.

“Sweeping you off your feet.” Nico shivered at the air against his ear. Percy smiled wickedly. Feeling bold, he placed his mouth on Nico’s neck leaving a trail of kisses towards his collarbone. Nico gasped. It seemed like he had hit a sensitive spot. “If I had known this before, I’d have done it so much earlier.”

“Percy… we can’t,” Nico said weakly. Percy moved slightly away, but remained close to Nico, who could simply move away from now, yet he stayed still.

Percy took a look at him, his pupils were blown out and his breathing a little labored despite the kissing being rather light. Percy wondered how such a simple gesture from him could leave his friends looking so debauched and ravaged.

He wondered what else he could do to achieve that look.

“Why can’t we?”

“Because I’m a Son of Hades,” Nico said, still breathing hard. “A hero of Olympus not supposed to like a Son of Hades.”

“Bullshit,” Percy said calmly. “Is that all I am? A hero? Is there nothing else to me?”

“Of course there’s more,” Nico said. “You’re intelligent, you’re selfless, and soon you’ll have your degree in communication studies, there’s so much more to you than saving the world as a teen!”

“Then why can’t you believe there’s more to you than being the Son of Hades?” Percy said. Nico looked away, he didn’t answer. “Listen here, the hero of Olympus, the Son of Poseidon is not attracted to the Son of Hades. Percy Jackson is attracted to Nico di Angelo.”

“But—”

“And the only thing that will stop Percy Jackson from trying is not an excuse about who his or Nico di Angelo’s parents are or what they did nearly five years ago.” Percy took Nico’s hand and gave it a small kiss. Nico followed the movements with rapt attention. “The only thing that will stop Percy Jackson is Nico not feeling the same way. Not the Son of Hades, but Nico.”

Nico stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity before taking his hand back. Percy let him. He was beginning to feel disappointed when Nico took his face between his hands and kissed him quickly.

“Nico feels the same way,” he said before moving away and grabbing back his cup of coffee. Percy blinked, perplexed. “But he’s embarrassed about making a scene in the middle of the street and doesn’t want to be late for class.”

Nico began running away. Percy’s brain caught up with his body and he sprinted after Nico, his latte forgotten in that window railing.

“Then Percy will keep pursuing Nico, until he goes on a date with him!” He said as he caught up, the New Rome University in sight.

“This Friday is alright, so long as Percy stops speaking in third person,” Nico said. He gave Percy a quick peck on the cheek. “See you after class.”

“Yeah… see you.”

They both smiled at each other before going their separate ways.

Yeah, even after all that, Percy didn’t understand how friends become something more, but it doesn’t really matter. It just mattered that it happened, and that it would make both him and Nico happy.

**Author's Note:**

> So, lots of things to talk about, so I'll stick to the two main points.
> 
> \- Percabeth/Solangelo: I don't think they are inherently awful or terrible relationships, but I do believe they're immature. In a way, Annabeth and Percy lacked communication. Percy and Annabeth would still be together if they had talked things out instead of bottling their grievances over living together and leaving the honeymoon stage (a very common issue in adult relationships), but that would require a maturuty they did not yet have. As for Will and Nico, they are so undeveloped as a couple that they could break up for any concievable reason easily, so I chose the common route. Their relationship feels very token, so I translated it into Nico using the relationship to accept himself and coming out. He didn't fall for Will so much as he did for what a relationship with him represented.
> 
> \- Son of Hades: This comes from Nico's rant in HoH. He calls himself a Son of Hades as if that explained his social failings, when it's far more complicated than that. Nico knows this, and uses his parentage to deflect uncomfortable topics. Percy's relationship with Nico only progresses when he rejects that explanation and pushes through. In that same vein, the reason I gave Nico and Percy such different jobs from fanon interpretations was to drive the point home even further. They are not an extension of their parents. Percy might know and care for sea life, and Nico might be knowledgeable on death, but they are more than that, and that's reflected in their career choices.
> 
> That's pretty much it. Please leave any comment or question, it always makes me happy to read those. With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoyed, until next time!


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